Nobody

Nobody (2021)

Runtime: 92 minutes

Directed by: Ilya Naishuller

Starring: Bob Odenkirk, Aleksey Serebryakov, Connie Nielsen, Christopher Lloyd, and some names which were surprises to me when I saw the opening credits, so I won't spoil it for those that don't know either

From: Universal

This was pretty much what you'd expect from the director of Hardcore Henry and one of the writers of John Wick. As typical, a modern trailer did not sell me completely on a film. Yet, I hadn't been to a cinema in 2 ½ months and last night I had no other plans so I gave the movie a shot-turns out, I should have expected the nutty moments (although it is not as bizarre as Henry by any means) and graphic violent moments.

Bob Odenkirk plays the hilariously named Hutch Mansell, a former badass who settles down into a drab suburban life. However, circumstances happen and the old Hutch returns; considering the director's Russian, no surprise that this is the nationality of the main villains. Thankfully the action was not first person like Henry, thus it was shot cleanly and never became nauseating. There are chuckles along the way in between all the graphic bloody violence and dozens of dudes getting wrecked. You do have to wait a bit to see the action-that said, this first setpiece was a delight and a nice cathartic release as Hutch finally starts kicking ass.

Like with Hardcore, at times the movie tries hard... perhaps too hard at times. It was still an amusing good time that many action fans should enjoy. Me, I enjoyed the surprisingly eclectic soundtrack. Some of the tunes were of the type that my (late) mom would have listened to, but others were definitely in my wheelhouse; furthermore, at times those songs are used in unexpected ways. At least at my screening, this pleased the audience; I mean, there was applause when the end credits began! While initially a surprise, the idea that those people may not have been to the cinema in months and were just happy to see something they enjoyed in a theatrical setting.

Morning Patrol

Morning Patrol (Prioni Peripolis) (1987)

Runtime: 105 minutes

Directed by: Nikos Nikoladis

Starring: Michele Valley, Takis Spyridakis, Liana Hatzi, Nikos Hatzis, Panos Thanassoulis

From: Greek Film Center

Somehow, this is my first Greek movie. Finally being able to check one out was the main goal of what I wanted to see last night. This one in particular came about from a mutual writing a positive review & its availability in HD on YouTube. It is not director Nikos Nikoladis' most famous work but at the end I'll explain why that wasn't selected.

It is one of those arty post-apocalyptic films which-thankfully for me-wasn't either too obtuse or too pretentious. A woman who has amnesia wanders the countryside then a city in Greece and discovers that things are rather odd. Power is still on and the world ending must have just happened with what is still around. Old movies play on TV and in cinemas; in addition, dialogue is sometimes heard from famous authors of the past, such as Raymond Chandler and Philip K. Dick. Oh, and much of the words you hear the lead say are her internal monologues. Odd, although not the strangest example in this genre I've viewed. There actually is a morning patrol that appears in the movie, as one of the obstacles along the way for the protagonist.

This is one of those movies where I don't want to give anything else away as it is best to go in cold and let the viewer attempt to figure out what it all means... as I am not 100% sure of that myself. That said, it was melancholy and dream-like without being a slog to get through or was a punishing sit. For what this was, it was pretty good; the nice direction and strong lead performance from Michele Valley definitely were assets. Like I said, this is not the most famous movie from director Nikos Nikoladis; that honor (and the only movie that has any traction in the West) is 1990's Singapore Sling. To be honest, THAT sounds like a punishing sit and would probably require me to drink a Singapore Sling or two to get through. Apparently it has lovely black and white cinematography but also contains many explicit sexual moments and is quite arthouse. This was more palpable for my tastes last night, in other words.

Rain The Color Blue With A Little Red In It

Rain the Color Blue with a Little Red in It (Akounak Tedalat TahaTazoughai) (2015)

Runtime: 75 minutes

Directed by: Christopher Kirkley

Starring: Mdou Moctar, Kader Tanoutanuote, Abdoulaye Souleymane, Fatimata Falo, Rhaicha Ibrahim

From: Quite a few companies from Niger

A version of Purple Rain filmed in Niger which has a long gangly title because in its native tongue there's no word for “purple”? I'm in! Actually, I've had knowledge of this for a few years and the time finally came for me to rent this 75 minute picture on Vimeo and give it a whirl. A few years ago I saw Purple Rain.. theatrically, right after Prince passed away. That was quite the experience; my opinion of the movie was aided by how wild some of the ladies in the crowd got at seeing The Purple One. It was to the point that I was surprised panties weren't thrown at the screen! That helped alleviate the feelings I had concerning The Kid being a real A-hole for much of the film. His behavior was explained-what a horrible family he had-and he finally changed at the end but that was striking to me.

In this case, Niger is a Muslim country so certain elements are sanitized and this is more “inspired” by the film than a straight-up remake. Sure, some story beats are similar, lead Mdou Moctar (a real life music star in that region of the world) wears a purple outfit and rides around on a purple motorcycle-wrapped that color DIY style-but the lead here isn't a terrible jerk and his dad is against him playing guitar due to the “rock and roll lifestyle”, which was one of several elements taken from Moctar's real life exploits. He finds romance and yes there is a version of Morris Day's character which serves as a rival who is unhappy that this upstart moved to “his” city.

As should be expected, this was rough around the edges and is not as good as the original. That is not meant as an insult as the film is still fine and was interesting for me. Getting to see a star I otherwise wouldn't have known at all was nice, and so was seeing life in a country I know little about. Specifically, it's the region of the country occupied by the Tuareg people, and the city of Agadez in the middle of the country. But most important is the music. No, it was not covers of the Purple Rain soundtrack, which is for the best as how can anyone compare to Prince? Rather, it's music native to the region and while it is different to my Western ears, those tunes (whether electric or acoustic) are rather catchy and that was pleasant to listen to. Henceforth, I was happy to have finally checked out how a famous movie from the mid 80's inspired a story that was still unique to a specific region halfway across the world.

 

Rabid

Rabid (1977)

Runtime: 90 minutes

Directed by: David Cronenberg

Starring: Marilyn Chambers, Frank Moore, Joe Silver, Howard Ryshpan, Patricia Gage

From: Several Canadian companies

Once again I am playing catch up; once I post another review (in the evening) I'll be caught up: 

My having seen a trailer for this, its director, its run on the Criterion Channel ending in a few days and how like some movies of its type does seem more relevant in the past year... that is why I gave Rabid a whirl. It does have a simple premise where Marilyn Chambers suffers severe injuries in a motorcycle wreck that just happened to occur close by a special plastic surgery clinic. She receives experimental surgery but it goes quite wrong and develops something that-not surprising for the director-was overtly sexual and results in the spread of a rabies-like illness which does remind people of “zombies” and like some movies of its type, it is easy to be reminded of how life has been since March of last year.

It is not my favorite David Cronenberg movie and was rough around the edges. That said, it may help me that I've never seen the similar Shivers, which I've seen quite a few say is better. Rabid was still a nice bit of body horror and paranoia over a mysterious illness set in rural Quebec and then Montreal, full of garish and large 70's vehicles, including station wagons that are probably as rare as hen's teeth now. That and the amusement of legendary adult star Chambers having a scene in an X-rated joint did help provide enjoyment when there were some rather harsh and sad moments. If you look at Marilyn's Wikipedia page, what a life she had: she was in and out of the adult scene as she wanted a mainstream acting career but her past did haunt her... she had some disco songs-one of which actually is heard in the film-dabbled in politics, was arrested for BS reasons while performing in strip clubs, had drug issues that she was able to beat, and died in her late 50's due to an aneurysm.

Anyhow, it was still an entertaining piece of Canuxploitation which does in part suffer because the director went on to bigger and better things; the fact that Chambers actually delivered a solid performance-perhaps she would have had a legitimate career if she hadn't stumbled into X-rated features-does help. Apparently, the 2019 remake from the Soska sisters actually isn't bad, although at times I've disagreed with those that say a horror remake is worth seeing (most will disagree, but that Suspriria remake was overlong pretentious claptrap). I am sure that one day in the future I'll find out for myself.

Dead Presidents

Dead Presidents (1995)

Runtime: 119 minutes

Directed by: The Hughes Brothers

Starring: Larenz Tate, Keith David, Chris Tucker, Freddy Rodriguez, Rose Jackson

From: Hollywood Pictures/Caravan Pictures

Me seeing some heist films late last month made me realize that I should always check out others in that genre at least once in awhile; this is an example where that act is but one of a few that are presented. It is accurate when I've seen complaints that a lot is stuffed into this two hour runtime (a young Black man named Anthony Curtis grows up in late 60's NYC, he enlists in the Marines and experiences the horrors of war in Vietnam, he has to adjust to post-war life, he and his pals decide to do a daring heist which of course does not go as planned) and perhaps it'd have been even better if it had been like a 3 hour epic tale or even a miniseries.

That said, what was present was still pretty good overall. It was refreshing to see a view of that time period from the Black perspective. Once Tony (yes, the obvious joke is eventually made by someone) returns home he realizes there's a new Black Power movement and that was quite the eye-opener for him. I was always interested in the various people he interacted with, from his baby mama to his pals, including Chris Tucker in a role where he had some actual dramatic moments and was able to deliver a nice performance. And as always it's great seeing Keith David. There was also a nice “I saw what you did there” cameo from a famous face at the end. Believe it or not, it is loosely based on a famous 1981 robbery of a Brink's truck; the event was so infamous it has its own Wikipedia page. Some of the people involved were members of the militant Black Liberation Army movement, including Tupac's stepfather; no kidding.

For me-and others-the real standout of the movie is not the Danny Elfman score, the visceral graphic moments or the cinematography-though all of those elements were presented well. Larenz Tate as Curtis was great but even he is eclipsed by the knockout soundtrack. Old R&B and funk is of interest to me anyway but quality tunes were selected that also managed to fit each particular scene. There's several James Brown songs, Isaac Hayes, Curtis Mayfield, Al Green, Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, and others. Aurally it was delightful. I am glad there is a nice HD print that can be streamed as somehow this has not been released past DVD. Who knows what the holdup there is although I have some ideas. With any luck, one day it will be out on Blu or even 4K UHD as the movie's good enough where it deserves more attention.

Three Strangers

Three Strangers (1946)

Runtime: 92 minutes

Directed by: Jean Negulesco

Starring: Sydney Greenstreet, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Peter Lorre, Joan Lorring, Robert Shayne

From: Warner Bros.

Last night on Turner Classic Movies they showed a run of movies featuring Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet-do you believe they were in 9 motion pictures together?-and this atypical film noir is one I selected both due to it fitting in my schedule and me hearing about this film before.

Geraldine Fitzgerald gets Lorre and Greenstreet together as there needs to be a trio unfamiliar with each other for the purposes of wishing on a Chinese idol... specifically, they three go in on a ticket for the Grand National (this is set in late 30's England during Chinese New Year and for those not in the UK and are unfamiliar w/ Grand National, it's a legendary steeplechase horse race still held today) but they have to follow various guidelines; this is depicted as a large statue of what is identified as Kwan Yin. It is loosely based on actual Buddhist deity Guanyin. Believe it or not, one of the writers of this unique tale was John Huston, although he was not the director.

After the beginning, the trio do not get back together until the end; instead, three separate stories are shown, one of which is a crime case-that's why this is technically a noir. As others have noted in their reviews, with a movie that is unconventional by nature it is best not to reveal any of the surprises that occur. Instead, I'll note that this odd duck story is immensely helped by all the talent in front and behind the camera. I've been meaning to see more Lorre anyhow and among all the very good performances here, he was great as an alcoholic character who is different from his wheelhouse in ways I won't spoil.

I was happy that I derived plenty of enjoyment from this quirky and unforgettable tale that is perfect for noir fans that want to see something on Chinese New Year.

The Entity (A Bad Movie From Peru)

The Entity (La Entidad) (2015)

Runtime: 80 minutes

Directed by: Eduardo Schuldt

Starring: Rodrigo Falla, Daniella Mendoza, Carlos Casella, Mario Gaviria, Analu Polanco

From: Star Films

Turns out, the Peruvians can make found footage as bad as anyone else!

A few nights ago on Twitter I saw someone mentioned they had seen this motion picture, one that beforehand was unknown to me. Their opinion of this was quite a bit better than mine. The main draw of this was for sure seeing a native production from Peru for the very first time. This being a lame version of a found footage flick hasn't soured me on the country's output in general by any means-an explanation will be given as to why this was rather lousy, to be kind.

A group of youths in an A/V class decide to do a project revolving around... reaction videos. That's peculiar but there are other moments that strain credulity. One video in particular is spotlighted, and it is not charming and heartwarming like 2 Girls, 1 Cup... rather, it is of someone being tortured and killed. Those that see that end up dying; hmm, why does that sound familiar? That is not the only aspect which seems tired and hackneyed. Now, plenty of horror at least halfway decent will have recognizable beats or ideas lifted from famous works of old. There's no shortage of those that manage to do this and feel fresh or at least are engaging-this had dumb yelling young adults making foolish decisions and (in what actually isn't a first for the genre) film themselves committing crimes! Then again, there is also security footage shown of this action and yet nothing happens there with them and law enforcement...

Except for a few subtle moments that were chilling, The Entity was lame and wasted an interesting idea that may have been better served in a traditional narrative. Without spoiling much, it does relate to the Spanish conquering the region a few centuries ago. Oh, and this was filmed in 3D! That was made clear as breaking & entering occurs for the sake of the crew pilfering “3D cameras”; in 2D that makes some moments look really foolish. I feel foolish myself as I should have tried to find a better motion picture from the country of Peru.